By Breeonne Baxter on November 10, 2016
Continuing on from last year’s focus to encourage staff and faculty to ‘Be Myself at Work’ and engage in conversations about mental health and wellbeing as part of Thrive, 15 departments and units across the Vancouver campus took part in “Not Myself Today” Oct.31-Nov. 4, 2016.
The Not Myself Today campaign focuses on connecting people to the topic of mental health in the workplace. It does so through a variety of activities that are easy to do and that help us better understand our own mental health, reduce stigma and to foster a safe, open and supportive work environment.
Sharing their experiences and conversations as a participating department in Thrive 2015’s “Not Myself Today” campaign throughout Thrive week was the Professional Development and Community Engagement Unit at the Faculty of Education. Read on to find out all about their experience.
Putting the ‘Thrive’ into Professional Development
Submitted by Claire Ford, Administrative Coordinator Professional Development & Community Engagement (PDCE). PDCE delivers off-campus and online professional development programs, both domestic and international, for UBC’s Faculty of Education.
Positivity at Work
We had a great time taking part in the week-long Thrive activities here at the Professional Development and Community Engagement Unit at the Faculty of Education.
Our Associate Dean, Mark Edwards, and managers, Shaheen Jivraj-Sangara, Heather McGregor and Natasha Boskic led activities throughout the week which included:
- Monday: Positivity at Work (see photo)
- Tuesday: Online Mental-Health Quiz
- Wednesday Mood Buttons
- Thursday; Myth Busters
- Friday: Nitobe Gardens Walk
The week gave us the opportunity to get to know each other a bit better while discussing issues around mental health and illness. The highlight for me was being able to involve my 14 year old son in the group discussions during “Bring Your Child to Work Day” on Wednesday. Everyone in our unit all thought this was a fantastic and well-organised campaign for raising awareness about mental health.
A big shout out to UBC for putting this very important issue into the spotlight at our workplace!
What You Can Do
Thrive week is not the only time to focus on and talk about mental health and wellbeing. Let’s keep talking! Faculty and staff mental health & wellbeing resources are available on the HR website. If you’re interested in starting conversations in your workplace using the activities outlined below, visit the Not Myself Today website to learn more.
Please feel free to share how you’re encouraging conversations about mental health and wellbeing in your workplace at UBC by posting a comment below.
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By Breeonne Baxter on October 26, 2016
Submitted by Patty Gallivan, UBC Community United Way Campaign Coordinator
UBC and the United Way of Lower Mainland have worked together for 40 years to improve the lives of others in our local communities. It is the only board of governor approved employee campaign. My role is coordinating the UBC Community United Way campaign. I lead a team that consists of over 100 UBC employees and students.
The Team!
Team engagement is critical in the success of the campaign each year. Through collaboration, our team sets a clear and realistic goal. This year, our goal is to help 40 000 people in the lower mainland. Our team engages best when we value each other’s opinions, share our successes and communicate to one another with purpose and passion. And I am happy to report this is always achieved each time we are together.
Our steering committee meets throughout the summer months and our campaign team meet weekly in the fall. During campaign, we volunteer our time by participating or working at many events across campus. This is a time when we come together and feel proud to be part of an organization that helps build a better community for everybody. At the end of campaign we hold a volunteer recognition event and celebrate each other.
Our team culture is all about having fun. The more fun a team has the more engaged they will become. To ensure our team is consistently motivated and enjoying their experiences I offer one on one check-ins, support, provide resources when needed and cultivate strong working relationships.
I think being a part of the UBC Community United Way campaign team allows members to gain and/or improve upon social, leadership, event and fundraising skills. It also gives our employees a greater sense of purpose in their work and our UBC community.
Here are some really interesting and life changing experiences our UBC employees and students engage in each year:
The Sauder Plane Pull
Campaign Chairs hard at work
Animal House – Our Staff and Faculty Sports Day Team
The 2016 Turkey Trot
‘The Boss’ at our Pancake Race event which kicked off our 2016 Week of Caring
Have a story to share about what you’re doing to create an engaging workplace in your department and the impact for staff and faculty? Please send your submissions to communications@hr.ubc.ca
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By Breeonne Baxter on October 26, 2016
Submitted by Jacqui Noftall, Director, Human Resources at Development & Alumni Engagement
Development and Alumni Engagement (DAE) is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading development and alumni programs. Our amazing DAE employees work on UBC’s Vancouver and Kelowna campuses, as well as in the Asia Pacific Regional Office in Hong Kong. They actively engage alumni, donors, corporations and foundations to support student programs, research, and a variety of University priorities.
To deliver on our portfolio goals, we are committed to continuous learning that builds on our competencies (known as our DAE Core ABS – abilities, behaviours, strengths) that include: University Agility; Professionalism; Collaboration; Communication; Innovation; Accountability; and Leadership. The various types of learning we do as a portfolio include:
- All Portfolio Meetings (APM) where we connect on initiatives tied to DAE’s strategic goals and objectives and UBC’s Place & Promise, while celebrating our employees. At each of our three APMs per year, we acknowledge the service of our employees and recognize those who have gone above and beyond in demonstrating our portfolio values.
- Skills & Information sessions held on Monday mornings which feature guest speakers from UBC faculties, schools, and units, as well as our own DAE employees who are willing to share their knowledge with fellow colleagues. It’s also an opportunity for employees to share updates and successes with their peers.
- DAE Day, one of our three annual APMs, is an in-house one day learning conference born from employee feedback in the UBC Workplace Experience Survey (WES). The conference is coordinated and hosted by DAE employees!
- For new employees, we ensure they feel supported, informed, and connected to the portfolio through our orientation and onboarding programs. We also utilize our DAE Mentorship Program and buddy programs to connect new employees with seasoned employees to gain insight, knowledge and an understanding of the University.
- Employees are welcome to join the employee-led DAE Toastmasters group which helps build self-confidence and enhances public speaking and leadership skills in a supportive atmosphere.
- Our weekly employee newsletter – the Portfolio – helps employees stay informed and connected. Networking and learning opportunities are also available to employees through alumni events!
- Lastly, we are a team that likes to have fun and take advantage of all the great employee initiative on campus!
DAE team welcomes Professor Santa Ono to our September 14th APM!
Marguerite Collins Olding accepting a DAE award acknowledging her exceptional leadership
A morning panel discussion that included UBC researchers and communicators
Submitted by the DAE HR Team – recipients of the Team Spirit award at UBC’s 2015 Sports Day!
DAE taking part in UBC activities on campus – Joy of Feeding in 2016 through Land & Food Systems
Have a story to share about what you’re doing to create an engaging workplace in your department and the impact for staff and faculty? Please send your submissions to communications@hr.ubc.ca
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By Breeonne Baxter on August 23, 2016
UBC presents the President’s Service Awards for Excellence and other staff awards annually to recognize staff members who demonstrate outstanding achievement and excellence within the UBC community.
President’s Service Awards for Excellence
The President’s Service Awards for Excellence medal is awarded to five recipients this year.
The President’s Service Award for Excellence is presented each year to up to five outstanding staff members. The PSAE acknowledges staff who have made outstanding contributions to UBC, and who excel in their personal achievements.
This year’s President’s Service Awards for Excellence recipients are:
- Isabella Losinger, Director of Administration, Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine
- Evelyn Maan, Research Manager, Oak Tree Clinic, BC Women’s Hospital, Faculty of Medicine
- Carol Naylor, Associate Director, Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects, Student Development & Services
- Deb Pickman, Marketing and Communications Manager, Arts & Culture District, Faculty of Arts
- Liska Richer, Manager, UBC SEEDS Program, Campus and Community Planning
The President’s Staff Awards at the Vancouver campus recognize the personal achievements and contributions that our staff make to UBC, and to the vision and goals of the University.
This year’s President’s Staff Awards recipients are:
Leadership
- Robert Brackenbury, Program Manager, Years 1 & 2, Dean’s Office, MD Undergraduate Education, Faculty of Medicine
- Julie Stockton, Senior Workplace Learning Strategist, Human Resources
Creativity & Innovation
- Derek Tan, Digital Media Specialist, Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Faculty of Science
- Bill Upward, Teaching and Learning Strategist, Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine
- Brad Wheeler, Technology Transfer Manager – Life Sciences, Industry Liaison Office
Enhancing the UBC Experience
- Jacquelyn (Jacqui) Brinkman, Manager, Graduate Pathways to Success Program, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
- Patrick Tamkee, Aquatics Technician, Zoology, Faculty of Science
Community Engagement
- Tamara Baldwin, Associate Director, Office of Regional and International Community Engagement, Faculty of Arts
- Margot Fraser, Program Assistant, MM & B+MM, Robert H. Lee Graduate School, Sauder School of Business
Emerging Leadership
- Miranda Massie, Health Promotion Coordinator, Human Resources
- Kali Wilson, Senior Student Development Coordinator, Faculty of Science
Advancing Diversity & Inclusion
- Dana-Lyn Mackenzie, Associate Director, First Nations Legal Studies Program, Allard School of Law
Learn more about Staff Awards at UBC at http://www.focusonpeople.ubc.ca/awards/.
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By Breeonne Baxter on July 19, 2016
Submitted by Adrienne Hammond, Office Manager at MedIT
MedIT is a somewhat unique department in that we have approximately 100 staff on seven different teams, and we are distributed throughout the province, with staff in multiple Vancouver locations as well Prince George, Victoria, and Kelowna. The size and distribution of our team requires some creativity in terms of engagement and making everyone feel connected to the team.
For many years we have done team building events involving one or more of our teams. For example, during the annual Collaboration Technologies Retreat, all of MedIT is invited to join for a pizza lunch, and last year they invited two other teams to join in the entire retreat as well.
The 2015 MedIT Collaboration Technologies retreat
My primary role in MedIT is Office Management and Human Resources, and as part of that I have recently started leading a Staff Engagement Working Group made up of both managers and staff. We look at our engagement survey results, discuss them with the teams, discuss feedback, decide on action items and then implement those actions. We are mid-way through this process at this time, and I’m excited to see some new initiatives implemented over the next few months.
There are several other things we do to engage our staff. We have a group training for the Gran Fondo cycling event. We also have a group that is similar to Toastmasters, and we have other small events organized by staff such as soccer games, ping pong tournaments, and more. Additionally we have an internal blog where teams can share information and highlights. I have also recently incorporated a “Getting to Know You” series into the blog where we profile a staff member and ask them fun questions so we can all get to know each other a little better. We have also started sharing photography on the blog as many of our staff enjoy that as a hobby and it gives us a visual peek into each other’s lives outside of work.
MedIT Gran Fondo training ride
I feel that staff engagement is a high priority in MedIT and I look forward to continuing to increase our efforts in this area with the creation of the Working Group.
Have a story to share about what you’re doing to create an engaging workplace in your department and the impact for staff and faculty? Please send your submissions to communications@hr.ubc.ca
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